It’s unthinkable that a government of “renewed hope” should even contemplate celebrating Children’s Day when our children are facing imminent death from Fulani kidnappers. A day when one of their teachers was beheaded like a cow by Fulani terrorists. Children’s Day is celebrated to honor youths, promote child welfare, and advocate for fundamental rights.
My essay starts with a very simple question: Why did Nigerian government celebrate Children’s Day when our nursery and kindergarten kids have been in Fulani kidnappers’ captivity for two weeks?
It’s unthinkable that a government of “renewed hope” should even contemplate celebrating Children’s Day when our children are facing imminent death from Fulani kidnappers. A day when one of their teachers was beheaded like a cow by Fulani terrorists. Children’s Day is celebrated to honor youths, promote child welfare, and advocate for fundamental rights.
Nigeria’s celebration of Children’s Day is an example of how not to celebrate Children’s Day. The truth is brutally simple: Dozens of our children are in captivity with no hope of being rescued safe and sound. Our children attend school without breakfast. They go to school in threadbare uniforms. They’re taught in a dilapidated classroom. They’re seated on bare dusty floor in the classroom. Some of their schools have no teachers, no windows, no toilets, no libraries. Some learn under the Boab tree. They’re exploited through child labor. Through sex trafficking, our children are maximally exploited.
